TIME SENSITIVE POST

No plans for the weekend? I have an idea. Try ‘fusion’ food. But this is not ‘fusion’ food as you might know it to be.  This is fusion food with a difference.

For two nights only Londoners will have the chance to taste the fusion of food that happens when you combine the skills and talent of two world-renowned chefs: Mark Jordan and Pascal Proyart.

I’ve often wondered how these things work; when there are two very talented and equally senior and accomplished chefs working on the same event. Is there a battle for ‘alpha’ status? Does one chef sneak a little extra salt into the other’s food in a bid to be regarded as the ‘best on the day’? Are there brusque words and awkward apologies at the end of service? If this happens under Mark and Pascal’s reign it’s exceedingly well hidden. They appear to be best buddies. And it shows in their food.

A little background before I implore you not to miss such an incredible collaboration – this is a two night ‘pop-up’ only – so you’ll need to get your skates on. The Atlantic is a very swish boutique hotel in Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands. As you’d expect at such a fab hotel on an island with such great produce, their restaurant, Ocean Restaurant, is a goodie. Under Head Chef Mark Jordan, it’s held a Michelin star since 2007.

As January is a quiet month in Jersey, Mark and Patrick Burke, owner of The Atlantic Hotel decided to showcase the food of Jersey in London. Enter One-O-One restaurant in Knightsbridge and Executive Head Chef, Pascal Proyart, originally from Brittany.

One-O-One is a beautiful dining space, enjoying its own string of accolades, including being listed as the third best restaurant in London by the Sunday Times Food List in 2015. So it’s a marriage of heavenly proportions.

I’ve taken a while to get to the food, but background is important here; this is a fleeting and ethereal combination of some very special elements. My favorite dishes on the tasting menu I tried were the innovative and seriously luscious “Squid rice-less Risotto, Cauliflower Pickle, and Anchovy Cream”, and the “White Halibut, Abalone, Sunshoke, Hazelnut, Bernaise Jus”. They were both spectacular dishes. I think they both encapsulated the joy and pleasure of brilliantly finessed food – the alchemy of unexpected combinations and unusual pairings. Texture, flavour, umami. All bang-on in these two dishes in particular.

This is a true and honest account of my favourite dishes on the menu, but I was relieved to learn that Mark prepared the squid and Pascal prepared the halibut. International cheffie incident avoided. Phew.

There are several tasting menu options starting from £39, but do get in quickly if you’re thinking you might book as this combo is mighty -and they’re only a duo for 29 Jan and 30 Jan, 2016.

*You probably worked out that I was a guest for this event. But I’m a bossy old cow and can’t be bought off with a few plates of (admittedly, gorgeous food) and a glass of (admittedly very good) wine.  This is a true and factual account of my experience.

The Atlantic Hotel and Ocean Restaurant
Le Mont de la Pulente,
St Brelade,
Jersey JE3 8HE
Channel Islands

One-O-One Restaurant
The Park Tower Hotel
101 Knightsbridge,
London SW1X 7RN